Consider adopting a Resolution in support of retaining Harbor-UCLA Medical Center as a full service tertiary hospital with Level I Trauma and Emergency care.

On July 3, 2002 the South Bay Cities Council of Governments adopted a Resolution in support of retaining the Harbor-ULCA Medical Center and urged it’s member cities to do the same. Mayor McTaggart has asked that the matter be agendized for the City Council’s consideration.

Les Evans,
City Manager

Attachment: South Bay Cities Council of Governemts Resolution No. 2002-2

Sample City of Rancho Palos Verdes Resolution

WHEREAS, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is the premier tertiary hospital in the South Bay and in the Los Angeles County Health System.

WHEREAS, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is the only Level I Trauma Center in the South Bay area, serving population of some 2.2 million people—both the insured and the uninsured.

WHEREAS, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is an important component of emergency management plans in an area of Los Angeles County that includes an international airport, two international seaports and major oil and chemical facilities.

WHEREAS, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center provides an immense amount of uncompensated medical care to the underserved of the South Bay and surrounding Los Angeles County communities—more than 75,000 ER visits, 250,000 outpatient clinic visits and over 23,000 hospitalizations.

WHEREAS, Harbor-UCLA is a magnet and training ground for new physicians serving the Los Angeles County, including the South Bay, with important links to the nation’s foremost medical schools including the UCLA School of Medicine.

WHEREAS, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is an essential partner in the ongoing medical research programs of its affiliated Research and Education Institute (REI), which has and continues to produce life-saving medical breakthroughs.

WHEREAS, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is a vital part of the South Bay region’s economy, employing more than 4,000 people and accounting for almost $1 billion in direct and indirect revenue to the South Bay area annually.

WHEREAS, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is the most cost-efficient hospital in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) hospital system according to the California State Auditor.

WHEREAS, the reorganization plan put forth by the Los Angeles County DHS in response to projected County budget deficits would seriously reduce Harbor-UCLA’s resources and role in the County health system,

WHEREAS, changes proposed in the DHS reorganization plan would strip Harbor-UCLA Medical Center of its ability to operate as a Level I Trauma Center and could ultimately result in the closure of the hospital as an in-patient facility.

WHEREAS, community and private hospitals in the South Bay would not be able to fill the void left by a reduction in services or closure of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

WHEREAS, the loss of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center as a trauma center and tertiary care facility would jeopardize lives in the South Bay and surrounding communities, seriously impair the region’s ability to respond in the event of natural and man-made disasters, curtail medical research and create irreparable economic damage

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes calls upon the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to reject proposals to downgrade Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and to instead continue Harbor-UCLA as a full service tertiary hospital with the range of sub-specialty care required to maintain Harbor-UCLA as a Level I Trauma Center and to sustain its role as a teaching hospital and as a research hub in conjunction with its affiliated Research and Education Institute (REI).